Shipping bracket



March 8, 1932. T. H STRACHAN v 1,848,208

SHIPPING BRACKET Filed NOV. 21, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet FIGA.

March 8, 1932. T. H. STRACHAN 1,848,295

SHIPPING BRACKET Filed Nov. 2l, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. v8, l1932 UNITED THoMAsH. sTnAoHAN, or LYNBROOKNEWAXORK, AssIGNOR To DAYTON soALn COM- renner Daimon, onrogn CORPORATION or NEW JERSEY y 'SHIPPING BRACKET nppncationmed November 21, 1928. serial-No; 320,861.

YThis invention relates to devicesV to Vbe' ap f pliedfto weighingxscales ofl the type disclosed the patent *to* zStrachan, No. 1,623,137, datedApril: 5,1927; Morefparticulafrly the :obj ect of the invention is to provide a shipping attachment for application gto aiweighingscale to hold' all of its movablerparts stationary -to prevent damageftofthesesand 'other parts when shipping l0 thescale. 1 f

Y Further, :the .objectV of the invention :is to provide such ,ay shipping attachment which may 'b'e .easily appliedatthe factory :and -reaolf ily nemovedwat the destinationof the scale by aniineaperiencedperson. f

V Still further, the object ofthe inventionis toiprovide a device which by application to one movable part, will` prevent 'movement :of a'l'lthe other movable parts. y,

Still another Objectof the invention is 'to provide Aa shipping .attachment lconsisting substantially of sheet metal and. which may manufactured easily `and at veryV low costs. Other: objects Yand advantages will fbe hereinafter setf forth in the' specication and claims and shown in theidrawings which by way of? illustration show yaV preferred iembodinientof-theinvention. lnthedrawingssf 3U vF'glqisa section .vthrou-ghthe yfront part ofthe lhousing ofthe scale showing the ship;-k

. pingbracket in place.; Y Y g Fig.- f2 'is'.a side viewo the Alower portion iy of the scale.;` L

i 3 Y Fig3 is-,asection vOnline 3 3v of Fig. 1;v

" Eiga showsafrontfview of the `shipping attachment, and,` j Figg isaside view Aofthe same.

'.Refellnginowto the drawingsQlO is.

1U basecasting ofthescale having aiulcrum stand ll (Fig-f2). which supports the ulcrum pivots 12 of the leverA 13 inthe usual manner. The lever. is provided with a pivot 14 .engag-k ing? the load pivots Y ofV the r platform or -pan 7 supportiIl-g;l frame y 15. The right Vhand end offlever 13 (as -viewedin .F ig. 2) has 'a .pivot 16-coacting-with`the bearing pieces 17 carried by-thelowerend of a 4steelyard stirrup V 18.

, Adjacent pivot 1.6,flever13 has on. its upper edge a lug 19 adapted to limit the movement oflever counterclockwise by contact with the bottom oft frame plate 20. I l

The upper ,end of the stirrup 18 is-hooked to a'loadcounterbalanoing conneotingelement 2l (Fig. Theelement'21-is fastened to a horizontal member 22 which ispositioned longitudinally of the drum casing23. 'Eachen'd of `the member 22 is bent upwardly and has spring 24. Arack carrying bar' 25 is-fixed to 'member-22 for movement therewithfdurino' ist vattached lthereto the end of a load-offsetting weighing operations. vThe bar 25 has xed to'each end thereoi` racks 26 (Fig. l) meshing with pinions: 27 on'th-e shaft 28 carrying the drum chart -29 which is lreadablethrougha longitudinal window 30in the drum casing.

After all Ythe aforesaid parts have been-assembled,Y theshippingbracketforming an esr sential part of my invention is applied to the 'scale and 4is effective to hold allth'e normally movable parts fixed -against'movementz Each bracket consistssubstantially ,of two blades 31 kand 32 which are bent manifoldly "and reef tangularly at their upper portion as may be seenvfrom the ydrawings and have a substantially circular shape on their lower portion. The rintermediate parts 3S-and 34 fareconneoted to. each other byirivets. which 'also fasten to the bracket a sheetmetalfplate 36 serving asa handle for'convenienc'e in manipulat ingthe bracket into and out of position inthe scale.l vThe upper portionof bracket blades 31 Aand 3`2-is provided with holes v3"( through Y Whicha trace 380i rubberor any other yield able material is forced so-as to form around shape on the inner side of the bracket V( F ig. 4) The lowercircular parts of blades311and32 Vare also provided with holes 39 through which also a. trace of 'rubber is forceduoonforming with its portions 40tothe lower circular parts ofthe bracketas will be recognized from Fig. 4. -I-t will be seen that the upper and lower parts of the bracket, and the rubber traces respectively are shaped to substantially* conform'to the shape of the bottoml of the horizontally extending, channel portion lof the scale housingfsee Figs. 11 and 3) and that shaft. 25 is jlocated between theupper rubber traces 38,1while member 22 passes vbetween the rectangularportion's of the 'upper part'ofv blades 31 and 32 of which the end portions engage the legs of the U-shaped channel 41 to prevent lateral movement of member 22. The circular portions of sheet metal blades 31 and 32 are flexible and may be sprung toward each other. Vhen placed in channel 41, the circular portions are gradually flexed towards each other as the bracket is moved from the mouth or wide portion ofthe channel at the center of the scale towards the narrower portion of the channel at one end'of the scale (see Fig. V1). Thus, the tendency of the circular portions when in the position shown in Fig. 3 is to spring outwardly back to normal position. Consequently, the circular portions grip the interior of channel 41 with a good deal of force and prevent the dislodging of the bracket from set position during shipping. 1

In the use of the above described shipping bracket, the frontk of the scale housing is opened to permit access to the drum casing. The handle 36 of a bracket is then grasped by the operator and the bracket movedinto the position shown in Fig. 1. A similar bracket which conveniently may be connected with the other one by a wire or cord is moved to a similar position on the other side of the scale, the position of the parts of the scale then being as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The placing of the bracket in the positions described raises the members 22 and all the parts connected thereto. Thus the bar 25, the element-21 and stirrup 18 are lifted w1th the member 22. t

The lifting of stirrup 18 results in rocking lever 13 counterclockwise (Fig. 2) until lug 19 thereon contacts the bottom of frame plate 2O which thus prevents further movement of lever 13 and stirrup 18. All the other parts associated with stirrup 18, namely, member 22, rod 25, shaft 28 and drum 29 are also prevented from moving upwardly upon contact of lug 29 with frame 20. The rectangular top portions of the brackets prevent downward movement of these parts by contact with ythe member 22. The latter and all the parts connected thereto are thus held from vertical and horizontal movement in either direction while the brackets are in position in the scale. As may be yseen in Fig. 3 the rectangularly bent upper parts of the brackets prevent lateral movement ofthe member 22. Rubber traces 38 engages rod 25 on two sides and prevent therefore lateral movement of the same.

When the scale is received at its destination, the front of the scale is again removed and the handles 36 are in convenient reach for pulling out the brackets. The movable parts of the scale are thus returned to then normal operative status.

While I have shown and described and pointed out the fundamentalnovel features of the invention as applied to a single modication it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. I intend to be limited therefore only as indicated by the scope of the following claims:

4 1. A shipping attachment for weighing sca-les comprising a sheet metal member consisting of two blade parts shaped symmetrically to each other, each part having a mani-` fold angularly bent portion and a substantially circular portion.

to each other, each part having a manifold rectangularly bent off portion, an intermediate straighty portion and a substantially circular portion, means to connect both blades at said intermediate portions, a sheet metal handle fastened to said intermediate portions and rubber traces forced into holes of said rectangularly bent off portions and said circular portions of said blades for yieldable coactuation of said shipping attachment with the scale members.

' 4. A shipping attachment for weighing scales comprising a sheet metal device having oppositely extending legs the outer ends of which are adapted to engage correspondingly opposite walls of a scale element, and parallel substantially opposed portions on said device extending between, joined to, and substantially at right anglesto said le and adapted to receive therebetween a sca e element for holding the latter against movement relative to the first-mentioned scale element, and means whereby the device is substantially fixed against movement relative to the first-mentioned scale element.

5. A shipping attachment for scales, comprising a device having oppositely disposed facing rigidly joined portions for receiving and holding between them a scale element against movement, and a plurality of flexible symmetrical clamping portions joined to the first-named portions on said device adapted to be inserted within a scale element separate from but adjacent to the first-named element, said flexible symmetrical portions having free ends terminated opposite each yother in spaced relationship, said ilexible portions being capable of flexing independently of and relatively to the first-named portions to move lsaid free ends relatively apart yvc'fherehykrthe exible portions are adapted to engage the vWalls of the second-r` named element and clampsaid device to said lsecond-named scale element. n y f Y 6. A shipping attachment for scales, comprising a device having means at one end` for engaging andfholding a scalereiement against movement, and symmetrical curved portions on the other `end of said' device. y 180 adapted to be `flexed towards each other to i be inserted inl a scale element separate from but adjacent to the first-named scale element and gripping said second-named scale element with outward pressure to thereby clamp the said device to they second-named element. Y In testimony whereof I hereto affix my signature.

' THOMAS H. ASTRACHAN. 

